Ear and hearing
Hearing, balance, ear disease and tumours of the ear and lateral skull base: otology, neurotology and the St Vincent’s Hearing & Balance Centre.
What we treat
- Hearing loss, including cochlear implants, bone-anchored hearing aids and single-sided deafness
- Acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma) and other tumours of the cerebello-pontine angle
- Chronic ear infections and cholesteatoma
- Otosclerosis and stapedectomy
- Lateral skull base surgery: vestibular schwannoma, meningioma, CSF leak and encephalocoele of the temporal bone, lateral temporal bone resection
- Balance disorders, vertigo and Ménière’s disease
- Tinnitus
- Facial nerve disorders
- Neurofibromatosis type 2 and auditory brainstem implants
- Skull base tumours of the jugular foramen (glomus tumours)
- Surfer’s ear (exostoses)
Hearing & Balance Centre
A neurosensory clinic combining ENT surgeons, audiologists and vestibular physiotherapists for assessment of hearing and balance disorders and candidacy for implantable hearing devices.
Referrals
Public referrals follow St Vincent’s Hospital’s established referral process; the referral form and how to send it are on the St Vincent’s Hospital ENT page. Private referrals go directly to the surgeon’s rooms.
Articles for GPs and patients
Practical guides written by the department’s ear surgeons for general practice.
- Chang P, Pedler K. Ear examination — a practical guide. Aust Fam Physician 2005;34(10):857-62. Otoscope and speculum choice, pneumatic otoscopy, wax and discharge removal, and the Rinne and Weber tuning-fork tests.
- Kim S, Chang P. Cholesteatoma — diagnosing the unsafe ear. Aust Fam Physician 2008;37(8):631-8. Recognising the unsafe perforation or retraction pocket, red flags and when to refer.
- Chang P. Implantable hearing devices — beyond hearing aids. Aust Fam Physician 2005;34(3):157-61. Cochlear implants, bone-anchored and middle ear implants, and who to refer.
Acoustic neuroma
St Vincent’s offers the full range of management for vestibular schwannoma: observation with serial MRI, stereotactic radiosurgery, and microsurgical removal by translabyrinthine, retrosigmoid or middle fossa approaches, performed jointly by neurotology and neurosurgery. Every case is reviewed at the skull base multidisciplinary meeting.
Cochlear implants
Adult and paediatric cochlear implantation, bone-anchored hearing devices and auditory brainstem implants, with candidacy assessment through the Hearing & Balance Centre.
After ear surgery
Keep the ear dry until reviewed. Mild discomfort is expected for a few days; severe pain, fever, facial weakness or heavy bleeding should be reported immediately.
Our surgeons
The department’s consultant surgeons work across the full breadth of otolaryngology, head and neck and skull base surgery. Each consults publicly through St Vincent’s Hospital and privately in their own rooms.